Islamic Republic of Iran

With the world's major economies having stepped back from the brink of a devastating meltdown, President Barack Obama comes to a global summit here pushing a slimmed-down agenda designed to prevent a repeat of the conditions that caused such panic a few months ago.

Obama will tell world leaders that the global economy cannot continually rely on huge borrowing and spending by Americans and massive exports by countries such as China.

In informal chats and fancy receptions at the two-day summit beginning Thursday, the buzz words will be "balanced and sustainable."

Obama gave a hint of the message when he spoke at the United Nations in New York on Wednesday. He said other nations cannot "stand by and wait for America to solve the world's problems alone. Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges."

This is the third meeting of the Group of 20 top economies in the aftermath of the financial crisis that plunged the world into fear a year ago. When the G-20 met in April, the economies of the United States and many other countries were under severe strain, and world leaders largely agreed on common remedies such as dramatically increased government spending to provide some stimulus.

With U.S. President Barack Obama presiding, the U.N. Security Council is expected to give a big political boost to long-stalled efforts to move toward a world without nuclear weapons.

Diplomats said the U.N.'s most powerful body will vote unanimously Thursday on a draft resolution calling for stepped up efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, promote disarmament and "reduce the risk of nuclear terrorism."

Obama is the first U.S. president to chair a summit-level meeting of the council and he will be joined by 14 other world leaders, U.S. deputy ambassador Alejandro Wolff said.

Obama aides see the resolution that will be adopted at the meeting as an endorsement of the president's entire nuclear agenda, as laid out in his April speech in Prague in which he declared his commitment to "a world without nuclear weapons."

The president called in that speech for the slashing of U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals, adoption of the treaty banning all nuclear tests, an international fuel bank to better safeguard nuclear material, and negotiations on a new treaty that "verifiably" ends the production of fissile materials used to make atomic weapons.

With U.S. President Barack Obama presiding, the U.N. Security Council is expected to give a big political boost to long-stalled efforts to move toward a world without nuclear weapons.

Diplomats said the U.N.'s most powerful body will vote unanimously Thursday on a draft resolution calling for stepped up efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, promote disarmament and "reduce the risk of nuclear terrorism."

Obama is the first U.S. president to chair a summit-level meeting of the council and he will be joined by 14 other world leaders, U.S. deputy ambassador Alejandro Wolff said.

Obama aides see the resolution that will be adopted at the meeting as an endorsement of the president's entire nuclear agenda, as laid out in his April speech in Prague in which he declared his commitment to "a world without nuclear weapons."

The president called in that speech for the slashing of U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals, adoption of the treaty banning all nuclear tests, an international fuel bank to better safeguard nuclear material, and negotiations on a new treaty that "verifiably" ends the production of fissile materials used to make atomic weapons.

On a day when the U.N. and Western nations appealed for global unity, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi on Wednesday denounced what they called an unjust world dominated by five powers.

The Iranian leader, touting his victory in "glorious" June elections, which the opposition claimed were stolen, did not mention the country's nuclear program in his speech to the U.N. General Assembly. He addressed the annual gathering immediately after six global powers who have been trying to rein in Iran's nuclear ambitions announced they expect a "serious response" from Tehran in nuclear discussions on Oct. 1.

Ahmadinejad lashed out at what he said was the rapacious capitalism of the United States, its Western allies and Israel, which he accused of stealing Palestinian land. But he also offered a hand of friendship to any country that "honestly" extends one.

His comment followed an Associated Press interview Tuesday night in which he urged President Barack Obama to view Iran as a potential friend instead of a threat.

While Ahmadinejad announced a new Iranian commitment to help build "a durable peace and security worldwide for all nations," his speech was laced with anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic language which prompted a U.S. walkout. "It is disappointing that Mr. Ahmadinejad has once again chosen to espouse hateful, offensive and anti-Semitic rhetoric," said Mark Kornblau, spokesman for the U.S. Mission to the U.N.

Brazil's president says Iran is entitled to the same rights as Brazil or any other country in its use of nuclear energy for peaceful ends.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva says that Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad assured him in a meeting that his country's nuclear program was intended solely for peaceful purposes and that he had no reason to doubt him.

Following his meeting with the Iranian president, Silva called Iran a "great partner" and defended Brazil's right to define its own foreign policy.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says his country is ready to shake all hands "that are honestly extended to us."

Speaking at the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, he announced Iran's commitment to participate in building durable peace and security worldwide for all nations while defending the country's legitimate and legal rights.

This appeared to be a reference to Iran's nuclear program, which was not mentioned in his speech.

Ahmadinejad portrayed Iran as a defender of poor developing countries, lashing out at unbridled capitalism which he said has reached the end of the road and will suffer the same fate as Marxism. The U.S. delegation walked out.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the Obama administration will engage with Myanmar's junta in a bid to promote democracy in the military-run state.

Clinton made the announcement Wednesday at the United Nations after meeting with her counterparts from a number of countries trying to convince the authoritarian regime to reform, allow dissent and release political prisoners, including Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

She said the decision to engage Myanmar authorities stemmed from a review of U.S. policy toward the country, also known as Burma, was initiated after President Barack Obama took office. The Bush administration had shunned Myanmar in protest of multiple crackdowns on the opposition.

Russian president Dmitry Medvedev lauded on Wednesday the Obama administration's decision to scrap plans for an Eastern Europe-based missile shield, a major irritant in relations with Moscow.

"We view this decision as a constructive step in the right direction that deserve a positive response from the international community," Medvedev said, referring to Washington's decision last week to shelve a Bush-era plan for an Eastern European missile defense shield.

President Barack Obama attributed his decision to abandon the plan to deploy U.S. radars and strategic missile interceptors in the Czech Republic and Poland, to a changed perception of the threat posed by Iran.

He said the U.S. government now considered that short- and medium-range missiles from Iran now pose a greater near-term threat than the intercontinental ballistic missiles the Bush plan addressed. A proposed new missile-defense plan would rely on a network of sensors and interceptor missiles based at sea, on land and in the air as a bulwark against any potential Iranian attack.

The original missile defense plan was one of the thorniest issues in U.S.-Russian relations. Obama has sought to improve ties with the Kremlin, declaring he wanted to "reset" relations with the former Cold War rival.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says sanctions are rarely productive but opened the door to tougher ones to halt Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program.

After meeting with President Barack Obama in New York, the Russian leader told reporters "in some cases sanctions are inevitable."

Obama's top priority in his sit-down with Medvedev was Iran's nuclear ambitions. Talks are scheduled for next month between a group of nations and Iran, and Obama wants to pursue tougher sanctions if those meetings yield nothing. Yet, Russia has stood in the way of stronger action against Tehran in the past.

Obama told reporters that he remains committed to negotiating with Iran in "serious fashion" but that "serious, additional sanctions" remain a possibility.

At a key moment in the conflict over Iran's nuclear ambitions, Tehran is speaking more softly, echoing President Barack Obama's call for eliminating nuclear weapons. But it's showing no sign of slowing what the U.S. calls a clandestine march to nuclear arms.

In his address to the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, Obama stuck to his two-pronged approach to Iran – acknowledging its right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy while warning of unspecified penalties if it veers onto the weapons path.

"We must insist that the future not belong to fear," he said.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was to speak Wednesday evening, said upon his arrival in New York on Tuesday that he hoped for better relations with Washington.

Still, Ahmadinejad insisted at that time, in an interview with The Associated Press, that Iran's own nuclear work was not up for negotiation.

In a blunt challenge to his nation's critics, President Barack Obama on Wednesday exhorted world leaders who once accused the United States of acting alone to now join with him in solving global crises rather than wait for America to do it on its own.

In his first address to the U.N. General Assembly, Obama sought to set a new tone in U.S. relations, moving away from the unilateralism of his predecessor, George W. Bush. He coupled conciliatory words about a "new era of engagement" with a summons for other nations to shoulder more of the burden.

"Those who used to chastise America for acting alone in the world cannot now stand by and wait for America to solve the world's problems alone," Obama said.

"Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges."

Obama said past policies and a perception of unilateralism by the United States had fed "an almost reflexive anti-Americanism" that too often was used as an excuse for inaction.

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